Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-17
CONFEDERATE FLAGS.
Coustnaed from First Page.

professional Office seeking soldier organ
izstions snd partisan journals, which
seem in many cases to have no other eI
cuse for being than 10 keep alive an6 De
qneath from father TO soE sririg o.
hatred"
ADJUTANT. GENERAL DRUM TALK
WAsHT GToN, June 16-AdjuJant-
General Drum is the only person in su
thority here who appears disposed tc
talk about the order relative to the re
turn of the rebel flags. He has good
right to speak for it is quite certain that
the idea originated with him. General
Drum has these trophies in his charge
What his share in the matter is can per
haps be best learned from the following
questions:
General Drum, you are going
the flags and colors which were
captured by the Union armies from Con-
federates in the WARP"
Answer: "We are going to return
them to ell the states, north and south "
The President has recommended that it
be done, ana am now having q full list
made of all these trophies in the posses
sion of the Department. In q short time
we shall have the whole collection so as
sorted and separated that we shall be
ready to forward to every state in the
Union whatever flags belonging to the
state volunteers which fell into the hands
Of the federal army, and into the posses
sion Of the War Department. | am hav-
ing complete inventory OF them made
out with written statements to tell briefly
as far as known, the history of each trophy
and the story how it came 10 be captured
All this literature will be complete and
the trophies will be ready TO be for
warded TO their owners in few weeks "
When the President expressed his
approval Of this proposition, cid he 90 so
in writing ?"
The Adjutant did not give direct
answer to this question, but intimate
that possibly when the list Of flags
returned and their histories were given
to The public the letter from President
Cleveland on the subject might also be
made public.
"When did the President determine
that these flags should be returned"
"Duriug the week of the national drill.
This action is not due to any pressure or
any suggestion from any outside source.
The idea originated with the admins
tration. 1t has been in contemplation in
the department for sometime"
General Drum OF course speaks only Of
the President in regard to this action, or
if he speaks Of another it is only TO sGy
that the proposition was made TO the
President by Secretary Endlcott at cab
met meeting, when it was unanimously
approved.
An official at the White House author
ized TO speak on the subject said this
morning: General Drum seems to be
the person to talk about this matter.
There has been no order, nor any paper OF
any kind, signed by the President relative
to it, 1t originated III the department
and has been carried out by the depart
ment, but the action of the department is
approved here, and that seems to be
about all there is to say about it,"
A number of cabinet officers who were
approached declined to say anything on
the subject, as II waS not under their
The Secretary of War was
not accessible this morning. There is no
doubt, however, that the President and
the cabinet gave their formal assent to
the original suggestion of Adjutant-
General Drum.
GENERAL FAIRCHILD ON RECORD.
NEW YORK, June lG.-"May God palsy
the hand that wrote the ORDER" "May
God palsy the brain that Contrlved
it," and "May God palsy the tongue
that dictated it." The Grand
Army of the Republic veterans
heard these words with bated breath and
glanced st each other with awe ss the
terrible sentences rang out from the
ccmmander-in. chief of the Grand
army of the Republic last night
in the association at Harlem
The occasion was reception rendered to
the communicative chief by Alexander
Hamilton Post No. 1872, Grand Army Of
the Republic. Visitors were present from
every Grand Army post of this city aud
Post Commander A. NJ. Under
hill presided. Among those present were
Senior Vice Department Commander Laf-
ferty, Junior Vice Commander Charles
Hall Grant, Past State Commander Hedges
of Haverstaw and Corporal Tanner.
Before the meeting opened it became
known that Governor Ross OF Austin,
Texas, had received a letter from the
AdjutsnJ- General of the United States
army stating that the President had ap-
proved the recommendation and the
writer had been instructed by the Secre-
tary OF War 10 return all the Confederate
flags in the care of the War Department
to the southern states from whose ranks
the flags had been captured during the
war of the rebellion. General Fair
child entered the hall with stern set
features. Without hardly waiting for the
usual ccurtesles, the leader burst forth
with the expressions recorded above.
The General told of the news received by
telegraph, that the President had ap-
proved Of the return of the "Rebel"
flags, and how those flags had been won
by the veterans of the G. A. R in open
conflict with the enemies of the
nation. The veterans had placed
their trophies in the care of the
War Department. They were intended,
he said, to be kept in the archives Of the
nation as mementOes of hard-won fields
of battle. He continued: CHOW can the
present loyal Governors of the southern
states accept emblems Of treason after
their professions of loyalty to the Union?
Must they not return them to the Secre-
tary and say that they have nothing TO do
with the flags, as the rebel organizations
are extinct and their governors are
dead?"
General FaiTchild said that ne had
listened to sentiments which
caused him to oite his tongue in the ef-
fort to maintain self control. In the